Winnebago Industries is laying off 51 people at its Forest City, Iowa, location. The Worker Adjustment Retraining Notification (WARN) notice says the employees' last day of work will be Nov. 9.
The company announced layoffs in August affecting the Forest City location as well as operations in Indiana. Those 27 employees were part of the speciality manufacturing facility. It's separate from Winnebago's primary manufacturing facility, which is also in Forest City and will now house the company's B-Van product line, previously located in Lake Mills, Iowa.
The shuttered plants in Lake Mills, Iowa, and in Middlebury, Ind., which housed the towables division, will be offered for sale. The Middlebury relocation affected more than 275 employees, but layoffs were anticipated to be in the single digits, Winnebago said in August.
"Winnebago Industries is focused on building a stronger and more agile enterprise for the future," said Michael Happe, president and CEO of Winnebago Industries, in the August announcement. "These actions reflect our commitment to thoughtfully managing our manufacturing footprint, leveraging the strengths of our portfolio and deploying resources where they can create the greatest value. By taking proactive steps today, we are strengthening our ability to serve customers, support dealers and drive long-term growth across our brands."
The company emphasized in August that Winnebago Towables and Grand Design will remain distinct businesses. Each brand will continue to maintain its own leadership team, product development, sales, dealers and product portfolio. No product lines are being discontinued as a result of these actions, the company says.
